The present teachings are predicated upon providing an improved disc brake system for use with vehicles. For example, the disc brake system may be used with almost any vehicle (e.g. car, truck, bus, train, airplane, or the like). Alternatively, the disc brake system may be integrated into assemblies used for manufacturing or other equipment that require a brake such as a lathe, winder for paper products or cloth, amusement park rides, wind turbines, the like, or a combination thereof. However, the present teachings are most suitable for use with a passenger vehicle (i.e. a car, truck, sports utility vehicle, or the like). Typical disc brake systems have either a floating caliper or a fixed caliper as discussed below.
Generally, a floating caliper braking system includes a rotor, a caliper body, a support bracket, and an inboard brake pad and an outboard brake pad located on opposing sides of the rotor. The caliper body further includes a bridge, one or more fingers, and a piston bore. The piston bore houses a piston. The piston bore has a bore axis that the piston moves along during a brake apply and a brake release. The piston bore may include a fluid inlet, a closed wall, a front opening, and a cylindrical side wall that has a seal groove located near the front opening. Typically, the fluid inlet is located in the closed wall of the piston bore so that when pressure is applied the fluid will flow into the piston bore. During a pressure apply the fluid will push the piston towards the front opening and into contact with a brake pad and then the brake pad into contact with a rotor. The caliper housing, upon the brake pad contacting the rotor, moves so that the one or more fingers contact the opposing brake pad and then move the opposing brake pad into contact with the opposing side of the rotor so that a braking force is created. Some examples of floating style disc brakes may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,260,332; 3,997,034; 4,342,380; 4,681,194; 4,716,994; and 7,357,228 all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
Generally, a fixed caliper braking system includes a rotor, a caliper body, a support bracket, and an inboard brake pad and an outboard brake pad located on opposing sides of the rotor. The caliper body includes a bridge, an inboard piston bore having an inboard piston, and an outboard piston bore having an outboard piston. The outboard piston and the inboard piston are located on opposite sides of the rotor so that during a brake apply both pistons move each respective brake pad into contact with the respective sides of the rotor. During a brake apply, the caliper remains generally static as the inboard piston and the outboard piston travel toward each other moving the respective brake pad into contact with opposing sides of the rotor so that a braking force is created. Some examples of fixed disc brake systems may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,099,961 and 6,367,595 all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
Examples of additional brake systems are found in and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004/0100058, 2004/0188188, and 2006/0124404. However, some of these systems include multiple parts to function, are heavy; or both, thus, adding weight to the overall weight of vehicle, which affects the overall fuel economy of the vehicle.
It would be attractive to have a brake system that is reduced in mass so that the overall mass of the system in which it is installed is reduced. It would be attractive to have a device with a reduced mass and a reduced number of parts, while maintaining braking performance. What is needed is a device that reduces the mass and/or number of parts while maintaining a low taper wear for the brake pads, low disc thickness variation (DTV) of the rotor and low brake torque variation (BTV) of the brake pads so that the operator and/or passengers do not experience any adverse effects on the system.